Kord met a little mama and smoked all her hash then went into convulsions. Taco got busted by undercover for running 3 card monte. I was drinking rum from a pint I hid under my hat. Wanted to stay away from drugs and just enjoy the show. I think they did Rider before China. Someone said Captain Beefheart was in the audience.

crisp sound, firing on all cylinders. just hearing this show for the 1st time on it's anniversary here in 2022, boy howdy! give er a listen!

Halfway between Kissimmee and Tampa, Lakeland had the 7000-seat Civic Center; but back then there was next to nothing in Kissimmee, and Lakeland functioned as an outer suburb of Tampa. Quite different today. This portion of the tour had been rescheduled, with this show moved from 4/15. In a way, this night is pointless to review. May '77 either means this or Barton, or Pembroke to most Heads. The band had an historic night, and everybody locks in on each song. I could pick any one and make an argument for year's best version. The first set alone is better than many well-regarded shows. The second set is an odyssey.

First Set. A gleeful Bertha, an emphatic Me & My Uncle, a long-touted They Love Each Other and a slick Cassidy lead to an incredible two Jacks. The first, Jack a Roe features sinuous leads, and I like to picture Billy and Bobby both making cool-jazz-face. Jack Straw may not quite be 5/17, but the line of demarcation is already strung into the beyond, and when you're dealing with infinity it all becomes relative. Tennessee actually starts a bit too sluggish, but also blows wide. Row Jimmy is the set's low point. Ha! Low point! It starts with a good tempo and gets better and better. Passenger is potent and a gear-up to this very special Scar>Fire. The first is an ultimate, powerful version, the second comparable to 5/11, 5/12 & 5/17.

Second Set. Almost every Samson in this year is great, but I'm going to argue that this is the best (on a given day I'd vouch for 2/27, 4/29, 5/17, 6/9 or 12/30). Context is part of it, because this leads into a Brown Eyed Women that may be the single best example. Bobby then pretends Jer (Phil?) is telling a joke while they make a setlist - some of this patter is cut from the official release. Estimated is also great all month, but this He's Gone is my favorite between 10/15/76>11/1/85. I can't say the same for Drums>The Other One, though it's well above average. The latter has a well-hidden reel flip @11:36 (the OFF instead has a cut @11:11 of 28secs). Comes a Time was never my fave (often a bathroom song), but - though it starts static - this is a definite keeper by the end. Some will say 5/8, but I prefer this St. Stephen>Not Fade Away as the best of the month (else 5/15). The funky era, there is just all kinds of goodness tucked inside. One More Saturday is exactly the right tone and mood, fitting the context of the set and happily exhausting. But you have to save some back for the gustatory U.S. Blues. It's so good the gods weep - shame they didn't stick this on DiP29; there was room.

1st Set:  A+
2nd Set: A+
Overall = 5 stars

Highlights:
Whole show

SOURCES: The 139573_sbd_gastwirt_miller is the remastered, pitch-corrected version, albeit some tunings have been trimmed. Dick's 29 has the whole show, except U.S. Blues and an edited TOO. It can use some balance and EQ intervention.

As the end was arriving me thinks to myself... Wow, that's a darn good Tennessee Jed! Its not exactly one of those songs you think of catching you, but when Jerry's playing the shit out of it... tis not to be denied! This show hadn't really caught my attention but decided to give it a chance as a result of a review I had read on another show page referring to this pair... Giving it four, only because its slightly less than the best of the others through this month of awesome shows, set-lists, and performances! And, again, the thing that caught my attention was the freakin' Tennessee Jed!
Good Grief! smiley faces for all!

So, I'm checking out a bunch of Spring Tour '77 Scarlet Fires and I'm picking through other songs in the show I like and I come across this awesome They Love Each Other. Keith's solo is awesome. Also, this recording is crisp and full. Deep bass, you can hear every little drumstick strike of the bell of the cymbals. Just perfect. Row Jimmy starts off mellow but tight. Then it rises at the first solo before returning to a mellow pace that rides a slow groove until the next solo. Overall, It's kind of soporific and reggae-ish but deliberate and controlled.Everyone is really listening to each other. Nice upbeat Passenger. Bobby's using the same effect he uses Dancin's from this period.Scarlet is just gorgeous. It's tight, mid-tempo. Everyone is playing together, all the little parts are nailed. Jerry and Donna's vocals are strong. It's probably as well-rehearsed as they would ever be. Studio dead live, sort of. The transition to Fire is beautiful. Pre-Fire transition solo by Jer is nothing special. He's just kinda doing little runs and trying to find something. It builds a little bit. But the thing is it kinda doesn't matter. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Everyone is playing so well, overall, And listening to each other that it becomes more about the ... whoa! Fire intro is fire! Mutron envelope filter here we come First solo is awesome! ! Mutron + distortion pedal! Yes! There's a slight bit of Jerry's trademark pinch harmonic picking early on, too. There's a lot to like here. This Scarlet'Fire takes its time but there's a lot to enjoy here. Recommended!

Set 1-They jam rapidly (without meandering)

Toward end of Jack Straw
Listening with headphones
as Jerry goes vocally all in.
Row Jimmy-mellow after jams
Spunky Passenger but the Scarlet>Fire closer
gets the oohs and ahhs.
I like that some of the tuning/ Dead Air seems to be removed from this show.
Already previously reviewed this and it is HOT.

Set 2- They stretch (but keep it percolating)
They pretty much go right from Samson>B.E.Women
and that is a sweet combo.
Donna Jean has some great backing vocals
toward end on Brown Eyed!

The only Dead Air on this recording
has the band bantering the rest of the set.

Rest of set is 'freight train' great:
Estimated Prophet-> He's Gone-> Drums-> The Other One-> Comes A Time-> Saint Stephen-> Not Fade Away-> Saint Stephen-

Did I as Captain Obvious state that ESTIMATED in 1977
was over the freaking top!
He's Gone at 15 minutes
but can taste TOO at 14 minutes until drummers prevail.
a brief and concise to the point drumz
Blistering TOO,,.with sound upgrade
There is a real mellow jam about 10 minutes in
which is like a prelude for the sheer mellowness
of Comes a Time (Dare I say it but I would have liked them to find their way back to The Other One)
Oh well, best not to look down on a Stephen>NFA>Stephen.

> perhaps
Sat Night E) U.S. Blues
is fairly standard
but there is a reason
they played those tunes
in those slots
so often---.
"Shake the hand
that shook the hand"